JohnSadlerAstro

Hi,

I feel slightly embarrassed posting yet another reprocess of this year-old data, but with the lunar illuminations this week and the bad weather I haven't been able to get and quality data with the new mount yet. I feel this is a big improvement over the old version of this image, the noise is still bad but the galaxies have a far more true-to-life colour balance and the stars are waaay more colourful.

Unfortunately the short-ish integration time refuses to give the image the "pop" which I'd like, so I'm planning to do a re-run on this pair as soon as they get a bit higher.

The stars have got coloured rings around them, this seems to be an issue with most scopes but especially when imaging with a DSLR. I have reduced the effect by applying a gaussain to a star mask--it works quite well but the stars do tend to swell a tiny.

2.5 hours at ISO800 with 1000d (unmodded), roughly 4 min per sub. 130PDS on EQ5. 

This was the old version:

John

13 hours ago, Susaron said:

Maybe in north Europe (and UK) you have better weather than in the South these days.

I think not. 

Really nice starfield there though! The Milky Way is so crowded. ?

John

Hi,

Another quick update, I got the NEQ6 out in a gap between the big Atlantic showers this evening. I did a quick PA with the polarscope and then went through a 3 star alignment which worked really well. I then got 5 frames each on M33 and NGC891. Im planning to get autoguiding up and then get some proper data on 891 later this week if the weather becomes at all cooperative. 

Noise in this "target preview" is obviously atrocious, as its only 5 mins at ISO1600! Hopefully with 5 hours it will be better. I didnt bother to guide, so there is also some trailing. I've processed in B/W as the noise is too bad in colour. My plan is to rotate 90 degrees and centre on the bright star above the galaxy to get the nearby Abell in as well.

John

To be honest ive never thought of it dropping off...?I suppose I could put the strap around the scope. The focuser is very sturdy, as spillage says. I also use the MPCC which is designed for this kind of focuser, so there is an indented ring around it for the focuser screws to lock into.  

John

Hi,

A quick update on my mount issue progress:

I found a 2nd hand NEQ6 which I've bought and got set up with the 130PDS. Hopefully it will be able to give good results as soon as the skies clear! The mount seems in very good shape, although there was a bit of dec backlash which ive removed. The real test will be when I try guiding, though. ? 

This is the mount next to the old EQ5.

The Setup.

John

I guess I ought to update the 130PDS fanboys enthusiasts about why I haven't been around for a while on this thread, the EQ5 autoguiding kicked the bucket so I'm mid way into the painful process of selling stuff to buy a second hand HEQ5. Hopefully I will be back by Christmas spamming out more sub average shots!  

This is my latest and most embarrasing result, NGC 7331 and Stephans Quintet. Plagued by massive Dec bounces so only 40 mins went into this. Consider it a preview for next year. However, it did help me solve some big collimation issues, so coma shouldn't be too much trouble when I'm back into imaging.

John

Hi,

Im not aware I ever posted this one up--M81 and 82, just over 1 hour 300 sec subs at ISO 800 I believe, unmodded 1000d on EQ5 non GoTo, autoguiding. This is the best result I've got so far, as I've been having  big issues with every aspect of the setup since then. However, they are gradually being resolved one by one so any day now it will be back into service!  

John

Hi,

Theres a guy down the end of our road who has talked to the ISS. He's got a quite incredible aerial setup, though!

I've never been round to see how it's all operated, radio is something I'm ignorant of. ?

John

Card and Black Paper.  

Wow those images are amazing! I'm really looking forward  to the nights coming back. One annoying thing with the 130 is collimation. For some reason I can only get the secondary centred if I off centre the front vanes quite a lot.

I guess I'll just have to get some test shots in and see how it does.

John

39 minutes ago, Stu said:

They look great, you will have three amazing scopes so if you don't have to, no reason not to keep it

I'm afraid that hint isn't very subtle. @Stu Methinks someone wants to increase their amazing scopes collection...…  

Of course, I eschew such things. ?

P.S. Or are you saying you don't want to? Too many negatives in that sentence. You need to eschew them please.

Johns

Tbh I would definitely do this if it wasn't for certain computer games I enjoy which only work with Windows .

I don't know what we'll have to put up with by 2050, probably a hologram of bill gates calling out tips and sudden notifications about One Drive being full. ? While I'm essentially a millennial, I do not think that this semi-obsessive ideal of absolutely everything being run by intrusive "smart" technology is really all that smart. Looking forward to the next Coronal Mass Ejection are we???  

John

Hi,

I believe I posted these in a separate thread a few months back, but as they are all taken with the 130, I though I'd post them here.

All were taken with 1000d, EQ5 autoguiding (except M101, which is no autoguiding). I use a cheap SW 2" LP filter.

M3, M31, M42, Pleiades, M81 & 82, M101, Rosette, Horsehead & Flame.

John

Just now, Sunshine said:

Thats quite a setup there, must earn you a good share of curious peeks out the windows from neighbours houses!

Thank you ? 

Yes several of the neighbours come out and chat/look at stuff, yesterday evening I was given a mini USB hub which will be perfect for connecting up the guidecam and DSLR! It's nice that other people are interested in astronomy, too.

John

Yes it was (almost) night, but the camera decided to do a 1 sec exposure not a flash. Hence the blurring.  

OpticStar 90S f/8.8 on old EQ2 trampoline mount in the foreground, ready to bounce its way to Jupiter, and then the Deep Sky rig with 130PDS on EQ5 in the background. The brickwork of the front path seems to be suffering a bit under the weight, but hey. ?

John

It's good you got the issue sorted out in the end--FLO are where it's at with customer service!

John

That's a nice lagoon, not too much red, either. Is your camera unmodded?

I'm really excited to get out later this week is the weather allows, but its so difficult to decide which one to image: the Eagle, Trifid, or Lagoon Nebula. :D 

John

Could I be a noob and ask what an ADC is? Also thanks for the tips, I will try cropping down the capture size so I can get way more frames.  

John

Those are really nice photos--they are certainly far better than any results I've ever got! I've never even seen the Red Spot, let alone imaged any detail other than the 2 main bands and some aberrations introduced by the barlow! 

I know I'm being very cynical, but it seems to me that each field of astronomy requires almost as much money thrown at it as skill. ? Once I got stuck on DSO imaging, the money for planetary doesn't exist! I'm guessing quite a lot of it is in the camera? Or just very very good collimation and a good barlow? So far I've used the default SW o.25" 2x Barlow, and an ASI 120 MMC.

John

I also keep a "remove before flight" tag on one of the tripod bolts, (to stop the setup blowing away in a wind--this one's been quite successful), and a pocket compass attached to the PA slo-mo controls (for good PA, this one's not quite so effective sadly). 

I have heard of keeping pet spiders or even rats nests in out-of-use OTAs is good for keeping up collimation, apparently their droppings prevent mirror corrosion are also better than most re-aluminizing methods.

And of course, the 130P-DS superstition about never saying "zero" near the setup while imaging--take the 0 of 130 and you get 13!  

John

12 minutes ago, Whirlwind said:

My general suspicion is that these effects arise when there is some slight motion because something isn't quite locked down as tightly as you realise resulting in a slight shift and a residual 'ring'. 

I'm afraid I'm just plain superstitious when on the issue of flats taken the next morning, after 'nothing has changed'. I have never got next-day callibs to work satisfactorily. Possibly the setup is angered when the by-3am-half-dead astronomer puts sleep before photos and staggers to bed.  

You mention there is vignette, to be honest I cant see any?   Perhaps the effects of the website compression and screenshotting have masked it though.

John

Hi,

Does photoshop have the ability to mask an area and then apply a brightness change to that mask (like Star Tools)? If so, that's probably the best way. You might need to make several attempts at getting the mask the right size/blurriness, though.

John

P.S. Nice M101!  

3 hours ago, alacant said:

Mine does that too. So also does a new one I bought for another project. They also slip unpredictably and change focus when you use the lock screw. Hopeless. YMMV but I've had no luck with sw focusers. Ever. Leave it locked in the focus position and collimate from there is your best bet. HTH.

Yes I have noticed this issue as well. Unfortunately the default focusers just don't keep steady at different focus points. (Although, once they are locked in position its all good, so not realy much point in getting a new focuser unless you plan to image with 2 entirely different cameras in one night. )

John

Just now, spillage said:

Have you made sure that the focuser is aligned (if this was removed).

Hi,

I didn't remove it for the flocking process, although I did make sure that was level all the way round with its mounting. I guess part of the trouble is that I never did much collimation until i got my PDS and the image coma became an issue. With some more practice, I'm sure it will improve.  

John

Collimation is something ive never been very good at--ever since i took all the mirrors out to put flocking in, I don't seem to be able to get the mirrors lined up properly. Right now, both a laser and the Cheshire say its collimated properly, but the primary is obviously tilted towards the eyepiece side of the tube.

Does that mean i need to tighten the screw on the opposite side of the secondary to the focuser, so that I can then relax the primary mirror again? It's all rather confusing, and never seems to work out the way all the tutorials ive read/watched say it should. 

John